Anita Arnon

Unless you're actually making it explicit, which people like Bolivar can't do because then they lose all their lateral support.

You can't make that promise.

You'll lose all of the people who do have guns and men.

So poor Miranda, right?

Miranda is a brave man.

There is no doubt about this.

You know, he's sort of riding from militia to militia saying, you know, this is, come on, let's fight.

And he's right at the front of this battle against the Spanish troops.

Absolutely right.

I mean, as much as you can command a ragtag army that's not listening, particularly.

But when it just looks as though it's all going just dreadful, and he is, remember, that Draco Malfoy face, look him up.

He is the face of independence.

He's been watching his side being hammered, losing in blood and coin and just showing no sign of being united or organized in any way.

So he signs a capitulation with the royalist commander, Captain Monteverdi, in July of 1812.

And this is so weirdly shocking because they're there.

They can see what's happening.

But Bolivar takes this as a personal betrayal.

He just says, we fight until the last man.

He is the guy who made that, you know, while there's blood in my veins, we shall fight, fight, fight for independence as a 22-year-old.

And he's still that guy.